The United States has revised its 50% tariffs on Canadian imports, adding products such as cheese and motorboats while removing several essential goods.
The latest changes took effect Tuesday as American households and businesses continue to face elevated living costs.
The timing also puts additional pressure on both governments ahead of the US midterm elections.
Under the revised list, various cheeses, motorboats, paper products and certain aluminium and steel goods now face the higher duty.
Mattresses and selected furniture products have also been added.
However, Washington has removed several products from the tariff list.
Toilet and facial tissues, fishing gear and whiskies sold in containers larger than four litres are now exempt from the 50% duty.
Road salt and cement have also been excluded, providing relief for industries and states that depend heavily on those products.
Senator Raises Concerns Over Tariffs
Senator Susan Collins of Maine said she specifically raised concerns about the impact of tariffs on road salt and cement.
Road salt remains particularly important for states that experience severe winter conditions.
Meanwhile, cement plays a major role in construction and infrastructure projects.
US officials have maintained that the revised duties affect only a relatively small portion of total trade between the two countries.
Nevertheless, businesses on both sides of the border remain concerned about the broader impact of the escalating trade dispute.
US-Canada Trade War Intensifies
The latest changes represent another development in the growing trade conflict between Washington and Ottawa.
President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian imports in August after trade negotiations broke down.
Canada responded with tariffs covering a similar value of American goods.
The dispute escalated further last week when the White House announced restrictions targeting certain Canadian alcoholic beverages and dairy products.
Those measures are scheduled to take effect on September 29.
Trump Uses 1930 Tariff Law
For the latest Canadian tariffs, Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
The provision allows the president to impose additional duties under certain circumstances.
The new tariffs cover goods included under the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.
They also come alongside separate sector-specific tariffs already imposed by the Trump administration.
As a result, Canadian exporters now face multiple layers of US trade restrictions depending on the product category.
Canadian Auto Tariffs Could Rise
The trade dispute could intensify further in the coming months.
A senior US official said last week that Trump’s previous threat to increase tariffs on Canadian automobiles remains in place.
The president has previously threatened to raise auto tariffs from 25% to 50% starting in January.
Such a move could put additional pressure on the deeply integrated North American automotive industry.
For now, the revised tariff list provides relief for several essential Canadian products while adding new categories to the higher-duty regime. However, continued threats over automobiles suggest the trade dispute is far from settled.
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